“Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.”ĬrossFit endorses the anti-inflammatory Zone Diet, which apportions meals to include 40 percent carbs, 30 percent proteins, and 30 percent fats, to support CrossFit workouts. “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar,” the CrossFit Journal advises. Help with weight lossĭiet and nutrition have been part of the CrossFit philosophy since the program’s founding.

Cool-down exercises built into some CrossFit routines, such as yoga stretches, also can improve flexibility. Squats performed with proper technique can make your hips more flexible, for example. “If you learn to do strength movements properly they can build flexibility,” Boulet says. Increasing agility and flexibility are also benefits of a CrossFit workout, which can include plyometric exercises like box jumps, broad jumps, and jumping rope. Simply put: more oxygen = more endurance. In more sciencey terms, HIPT workouts can increase VO₂ max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can absorb and use during exercise. Likewise, with CrossFit, “Working out shorter but with more intensity will give you the ability to run slower but far longer,” said Boulet. But Boulet says the intensity of CrossFit provides a cardiovascular workout, similar to running sprints.įor example, “If you run four 400-meter repeats with 2-minute rest periods, that 16 minutes will give you the ability to run much further,” he explains. Improve your enduranceĪ workout that lasts as little as 15 minutes might not seem to be long enough to get your heart rate up into the working zone. But bodyweight exercises like air squats and workouts that utilize weights like kettlebells and barbells will build muscle mass and improve muscle definition for both men and women, Boulet explainsĬrossFit is a full-body workout so muscles from your triceps to your quads will see increased strength. Get strongĬrossFit won’t give you the biggest muscles on the beach. Depending on what your personal goals are, here are some of the benefits a CrossFit program can offer. There’s a reason CrossFit has earned something of a cult following - it yields results.

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